Levy the Kitten
by kurisu313
Summary: A one-shot for cuteness. Takes place after the timeskip but before the games. Levy finds herself accidentally transformed into a kitten. Whatever will she do? Originally two chapters, but combined into one, so quite long.


Levy as in that state where she was as happy as she could be. A recent trip to the bookstore had revealed that an order for a book on ancient magic that she had ordered had just come through. She skipped happily all of the way to Fairy Hills. Nothing could dampen her happy spirits. She continued the short distance home and flung open the front door to feel her happy spirit crack slightly as the foul odour of Erza's cooking wafted out of the kitchen. Oh crap! Was today Erza's turn to do dinner? As quietly as she could, she headed to the staircase.

The floorboard creaked.

"Levy!" Erza called, hurrying out of the kitchen with a distressing amount of smoke. "You're just in time for dinner!"

"That's okay," Levy replied shakily as she plastered a big smile over her face, fully aware that she was a poor liar. "It smells delicious, but I'm not hungry and I've just got a new book that I want to go and read."

"In that case," Erza replied cheerily, plucking the book from Levy's hands and placing it on a high shelf where she couldn't reach it, "you're definitely eating with us! Otherwise you'll get too engrossed and won't eat anything and you'll collapse! Come on, I'm just about to serve up!"

"Noooo!" Levy wailed as Erza dragged her by the scruff to the dining room.

**===][===**

"What kind of meat is this?" Levy whispered, prodding the vaguely brown lump on her plate. She looked over at Evergreen, who looked similarly confused.

"I have no idea," she sighed, despondent. Most of the girls had remembered this fateful day on the calendar and made good excuses to get away. Bisca lived with Alzack now, of course. Levy had no idea what 'Healerfest' was, but she was fairly sure that Wendy had made it up. Laki had flower arranging apparently. At this time of night? Then there was…

"This is delicious!" Juvia cried, digging in with gusto. "You must teach me the recipe so that I may make this for Gray-sama!"

"No problem," Erza replied a little smugly. "There's plenty to go around, maybe you can take some away in a doggy bag?"

Levy shuddered, feeling for Gray. No one deserved this cold! Then again, he was an ice mage…

"Are you alright, Levy? You look a little green," Erza inquired with caring.

"No! Just I was maybe thinking of becoming a vegetarian!" _Really, Brain? I know I'm not a good liar, but come on!_

"Nonsense! Here, let me help you!" Before she could protest, Erza reached over and shoved a large chunk of 'meat' into Levy's mouth. Cursing the diminutive stature that allowed people to manhandle her so, she chewed slowly and swallowed, desperately reaching for a glass of water. She had no idea why Erza's cooking skills were like this, but oh sweet Mavis, it was awful!

"W-what kind of meat is this?" She asked shakily, at east wanting to know the name of the thing that killed her.

"Well, on our latest mission, we came across an adult bull Grox. I thought, why let it go to waste? For some reason, the others didn't want any." A Grox!? They were like giant skunks! Levy had heard tales that their stench permeated their very flesh and she was now experiencing it firsthand. She heard Evergreen wretch slightly.

"So fragrant!" Juvia marvelled, ignoring that Gray had apparently already rejected this meat once. "I must return this great meal to you Erza! How about I cook a Neruvean Octopus for my turn?"

"Urgh," Levy and Evergreen emoted at the same time. That was not a pleasant animal to picture.

"I think that I have a modelling job that day," Evergreen lied. Levy floundered around, but her poor lying capability bit her again, unable to find a reason as to why she shouldn't be there. Damn her, but Evergreen's lie had wrong-footed her – she wasn't the modelling sort, was she?

"I…um…I have a date!" She blurted out loudly. She regretted it instantly as three pairs of eyes bored into her.

"Gajeel-kun finally asked you out?" Juvia squealed happily.

"No…I didn't say that…"

"You asked him out? It's good for women to be strong," Erza said, nodding with approval.

"No, I meant that…"

"You're not cheating on Gajeel, are you?" Evergreen asked archly.

"I can't cheat on someone I'm not dating!" Levy snapped, face suddenly flushing angrily. "Gajeel has never shown any interest in me!"

Juvia leaned forward slightly. "Levy-san, that's merely because Gajeel-kun is a brain-dead male. He doesn't know how to deal with a problem that isn't punching him in the face."

Evergreen snorted with amusement. "I don't think that Squirt could reach that high."

Levy inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. Having finished most of her plate, she excused herself in a bit of a huff.

"Does that mean that you are available for Juvia's patented Octopus Tartare?"

Oh crap, how could this day get any worse?

…

…

"Could someone please get this book down!?"

**===][===**

Safely ensconced back in her room, drawn up to her table with her new book spread out before her, Levy felt her happiness returning. There were so many ancient spells inside! It was a fascinating read! She had to be careful not to read anything out loud, or she might accidently cast one of them.

Yeah…never done that before…said the girl with thousands of spell books.

_Why has Gajeel never asked you out?_

"Not now, brain."

_I mean, you like him, right?_

"Brain, this is not the time."

_Maybe it's because you're so short._

"I am not short!" Levy shouted angrily, the defensive reflex kicking in against her own thoughts. To Levy's bewilderment, the book began to glow, a spell activating. What? She hurriedly scanned the page that she was looking at. It was a transmogrification spell! Oh crap, she was going to be transformed into an animal!

_Again, as you've done that before._

"Brain, I will cut you!" Levy shrieked as she was bathed in the golden light. At the last moment, she was able to make out the spell. Ai M'nochort. Phonetically close enough to her outburst to activate.

"What the hell are the odds of that?" She squealed as the spell finished, and she was suddenly plopped onto the floor, her clothes billowing around her. She struggled to get up, but she was still so close to the ground. The realisation dawned that both were true. She was standing, but only about six inches tall. She looked down at her legs, now covered in fur the colour of her hair and made the declaration.

"I'm a kitten!" Which only came out as "Nyaonanyao!"

Bereft of anything to do, she ran in circles, panicking. Oh no, what did she do now? She needed to find the counterspell, but she couldn't even read it with this kitten mouth! She tried to clamber up the chair leg, but fell on her bottom. Everything was so big now! Well, things were always big to her, but this was a new level! How could she get back to the book?

She needed someone to help her.

"No, it's so embarrassing!" She said, voice coming out in kittyspeak. Cringing, she tried to wiggle her tail. Yep, she had one now. Oh god, what if Gajeel found out!? He already called her little and cute all of the time! This would turn it up to eleven!

Wait! She ran around into her bedroom, where she had a full-length mirror. Pushing a book over to stand on, she could just see herself in the glass. Gah! She hated to say it, but she was adorable! Her fur was the same colour as her hair, which still seemed present in the arrangement of fur on her head. Her ears were small and tufty, and she could move them by themselves. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amber and she had an adorable pink nose.

"I am too cute! I didn't even know that was possible! Oh god, I can't let him find out! I can't!" She needed help. She had to admit it. Hurrying to her door, she looked up at it in defeat. How on earth did she get out of her room? "Come on, Levy! You're smart, you can think of a way out of this!"

There was a knocking against the door, and Erza's voice carried through.

"Levy! Can I hear a cat in there? You know that animals aren't allowed!"

"Yes! Yes!" Levy cried, mewing as loud as her little lungs would allow. After a few moments of no answer, Erza evidently decided to enter anyway, opening the door which caused Levy to scuttle back and mew up at her.

"Come on Erza! I need you to read the counterspell for me!" The red head reached down to pick Levy up roughly by the scruff.

"Oi, Levy! Where are you?"

"I'm here!" Nyao! Nyao!

"I don't know where she's gone, but you aren't allowed to be in here, Mr Kitty." _Mr? I'm a girl! Wait, no I mean, I'm Levy! Damn, she can't see my clothes under the desk! _"Stop making all that squeaking! I'm afraid that you're going to have to stay outside until I can find that little devil!"

"You're gonna put me outside!? But I'm just a little kitten! And Bisca has so many animals!"

**===][===**

Her mews fell on deaf ears though, and she found herself tucked into a little basket on the doorstep, a cushion inside for some padding. Erza may be strict, but she wasn't cruel.

"What am I gonna do? Erza's waiting for me to show up, and that isn't going to happen, is it?" Levy pondered the problem. Assuming that the spell wasn't going to wear off, she had to find some kind of help. Sure, in a day or two, people would realise that she was missing, but she didn't want to wait that long!

Hmm…thinking about it, the only person that she could think that would be helpful was Warren. He was a telepath, so if she bothered him enough, hopefully he'd read her mind and see the truth. She screwed up her little kitty face trying to remember where he lived. The boy's dorm was separated around Magnolia, but she remembered that he lived near to Jet and Droy.

She took about three steps out of the basket and realised just how small she was. And it was the middle of the night now. Everything was big, dark and scary – not fun for a mage who was afraid of the dark. Trembling, she took step after step towards the town. After a while, she began to run more due to the short length of her legs – she wouldn't get anywhere at the rate she had been going.

Big. Dark. Scary. She fled as fast as her legs would take her, cursing the stubbornness that had made her seek out her own solution. Being a kitten in a warm basket was not exactly a tale of terror! Her nose wriggled, giving her a sense of input that she didn't normally have. The scents of the streets were fascinating and overwhelming, but she had no way of sorting what was what.

A dog being walked by its owners noticed her and barked and yapped, making her flee into an alleyway. Thankfully, it was on a leash and couldn't chase her down. Still, as she looked up, she could see cats watching her from the gloom, sitting on trash cans and other waste piled up. Some looked like they might attack, others just curious, and most just plain lazy. A kitten wasn't an intruder worth getting worked up about.

She heard yelling and banging from the other end of the alley, cats yowling in distress as they fled the maniac coming down the other way. A maniac with long, raven hair and multiple piercings.

"Gajeel!?" She squeaked.

"Damn that cat! I'll show him! I'll find an even better cat and make him jealous!" Gajeel shouted, examining the cats in the alley as they fled before him. Levy recognized Gajeel's expression as being in one of his sillier moods. Clearly, he'd had a quarrel with Lily over some minor thing and was venting.

She suddenly realised that she was the only cat left in the alley and watched as those crimson eyes slowly swung down to regard her.

"Nyao!" Levy could not believe her luck. First, she managed to accidentally turn herself into a kitten, and now, now she'd met the one person in existence that she'd hoped not to! She shivered as Gajeel stomped over to her, slightly afraid of being crushed underfoot, but he knelt and peered inquisitively at her. His head alone was so much bigger than she was.

"Nyao?" She said, inflecting it almost like a question. Just play the kitty. Don't let him know that you're some kind of spell-casting moron who's turned herself into a cat! Gajeel looked at her for what felt like an eternity. At last, he made his declaration with the precision of a Greek philosopher.

"You have a cute pink nose." He reached over to prod it with a finger.

"Nyao!" Levy hissed in annoyance.

"Feisty. Who's a cute kitty?" He tickled her under the chin. She purred with pleasure for a moment before realising what was going on. She couldn't blush without human cheeks, but she must have somehow. This was too much! How on Earthland was this happening? She squeaked in protest and began to walk away, but a hand clamped around her and Gajeel stood, cradling her against his shoulder.

"I'll give you a home. A little cutie like yourself shouldn't be out on a cold night like this."

_Wait, he was doing what?_

"Hmm, you need a name. Are you a boy or a girl?" Before Levy could respond in any manner, Gajeel flipped her over to check. Oh, just fuck life. "A girl, ey? I'm gonna call you Shrimp, cuz you remind me of someone else with your blue fur and littleness! Gihi!"

"I am not like a kitten!" She shouted in kitty language, which was adorable. "And why are you taking me anywhere? You're Gajeel Redfox, the distant loner type! You don't adopt cute things!"

"Now, I'm gonna make Lily so jealous with your cuteness. Gihihi!" Levy could do nothing but sit there as he cradled her gently. How was it that as a cat, she'd made more progress in getting a hug out of Gajeel than she'd ever done as a human?

**===][===**

"What the hell is that thing?" Lily demanded as Gajeel re-entered his apartment. It was the same as any of the boys', really, so not the nightmarish jumble of iron and evil that Levy had pictured. It was depressingly Spartan, with little in the way of decoration.

"This, is Shrimp. She's my new partner, since I'm not talking to you!" Gajeel sniffed.

"Shrimp!? You named it after her!? The very person that we were arguing about? Is there no limit to your stupidity?"

"You told me that I should spend more time with Shrimp, so I am!" Gajeel replied brazenly, grinning like a child who'd just won an argument on semantics. Levy was trying to follow the argument and was thinking about the fact that they were arguing about her. Gajeel didn't want to spend time with her? She knew that despite his frequent rescues, he'd never shown any interest, but this chafed. He didn't like her at all?

"Shrimp might have an owner," Lily advised.

"You think? She's so small and was out at night. Screw them. Little things need to be looked after." Levy squeaked involuntarily as he squeezed a little.

"You're such a softy for cute things," Lily said with an approving smirk, ignoring his own role in that. "Which brings us back to Levy."

"I am not cute!" Levy protested.

"Awww, Shrimp's squeaking," Gajeel fawned, rubbing her head. He looked back up at Lily. "Listen, you goddamn cat, me and Shorty have nothing to do with you."

"But you're purposefully avoiding her! Why?"

"Mavis-fucking-Vermillion! Because she's started getting all doe-eyed for me!" Gajeel argued.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes! Goddamnit, I cannot be seen with that little runt on my arm! Just think about it!"

Levy wanted to cry at those words, but she didn't have the proper tear ducts to do so. He thought that she was a hindrance? Just a little weakling that would ruin his image and hold him back? Her ears drooped and she made a pathetic whine.

"Are you hungry, girl? Hmm, we don't have any cat food." Levy urged at the mere thought.

"Don't we have leftover Grox meat in the fridge? The stuff Erza gave us?" Lily suggested.

"Oh yeah, you like Grox, little kitty?"

"Bleh."

**===][===**

"Alright, I'm going to bed," Gajeel yawned and stretched. "My new partner and I need to get some rest."

"Knock it off, Gajeel. But fine, I'll sleep on the couch tonight. Tomorrow, we're finding that cat's owners."

"Fine!" Gajeel huffed, slamming his bedroom door shut. He tossed the small kitten onto the bed and began to take his clothes off. Including changing his underwear.

"Huge!" Levy squealed, unable to avert her gaze.

"Like what you see?" Gajeel asked with a lopsided grin at the mewling. "Well, you are a girl, and no girl can resist the 'Iron Dragon', Gihihihi!"

"I just hate life right now," Levy moaned. Trying to find something else to look at, she noticed the shelves nearby, the only pieces of decoration she'd seen so far upon them.

"You wanna see?" Gajeel asked as he pulled on a pair of new boxers, noticing her gaze. He scooped her up and carried her to the shelves to see. There was a little sword, more like a big knife.

"This was my dad's. He made it for me from his own iron, back when I was a little one, just like you. I always kept it, to remind myself that he was always looking after me. Tch, I should eat it or something. Bastard never came back, did he?"

Levy was amazed. She'd never seen this side of Gajeel. She wanted to reach out and touch the sword, but it was impossible. He moved on and there was a pair of dog tags. She could make out Gajeel's name on one side and the symbol of Phantom Lord on the other.

"I made these when my first guild took me in. I erased my guild mark, because Jose was a bastard who can rot in hell for all I care, but I kept these. They were my nakama, right? That's what Makarov would say. I mean, Juvia's alright, and it seems like Totomaru found his feet. I shouldn't hate my old guild just because of Jose. I wonder how little Raios is doing these days."

"Of course, nakama are nakama!" Levy confirmed. They moved on to the next object. She frowned, trying to understand the little chunk of rubble.

"This is from Cardia Cathedral. It was my first fight with Fairy Tail. Me and Salamander, we kicked this blonde guy's butt! Sort of, but you're a cat; you don't need all of the details. But I tell you one thing; we wouldn't have got there without Shorty. It was the little one who really saved the day!"

"What?" Levy exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's all little, just like you, but she's strong in a completely different way to me."

"Nyao," Levy said for lack of cognitive function. They moved on to the next object and Levy's eyes widened. That was her headband! The one from Tenrou that Yomazu cut in two. When had he taken it?

"This is to remind me at all times that some people are not big or strong, but they are valuable and precious all the same. That those with strength should always fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is the most important thing I learned from Fairy Tail. Well, from Shorty, really."

"Really?" Gajeel spoke as if understanding exactly what she had said.

"Yeah. You see, I hurt her a long time ago. I gotta stay away from her or she'll hurt herself again. I'm too clumsy and dull-witted. She needs a man who will take better care of her than me."

"That's the reason!? No, I want you!" Levy protested, meowing up into his face.

"You're a good kitty," he grinned, patting her head. "I like cute things and you do remind me of her. I wonder why. Well, you'll have to do until I'm less of a blockhead! Gihihi!" He slipped into his bed, pulling the blanket up and resting her on his chest. She was easily small enough to perch there.

"Gajeel," she said softly, watching him sleep. Who knew that he had such a kind and vulnerable side? She puffed a little at all of the aspersions of cuteness and smallness that came her way, but…he liked her? He valued her abilities, but was afraid of hurting her again? "You silly man, I can choose to get hurt if I want."

Happily, she rested her small head down on his chest and fell asleep purring.

**===][===**

"Levy's been gone all night?" Evergreen asked the following morning, entering the small girl's room where Erza had already called Lucy to study the book. Erza nodded in confirmation.

"It appears that I might have accidentally thrown her out. According to Lucy, this book contains a spell of transmogrification. Levy may have turned herself into a cat." After listening to the explanation, Evergreen burst out laughing. "This is serious! She may have gotten hurt if she went wandering!"

"No wait!" Lucy burst out. "It looks like the spell has a time limit. It should have worn off by now."

**===][===**

Levy purred contentedly as sunlight poured through the window, warming her small body. She stretched her arms above her head. Wait, arms? Her eyes few open to reveal the scene. Gajeel was awake, staring down with utter disbelief as she nestled in the crook of his arm.

Fully human.

Fully naked.

"Kyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" She screamed for a full thirty seconds as she tried to cover herself with the blanket and Gajeel fell out of the bed, searching for some kind of clothing to throw at her. A few moments later, a large black t-shirt covered her immodesty.

"What the hell is going on!?" Gajeel shouted, clearly unsure whether to be angry, frightened, amused or aroused.

"I was the cat, baka!" Levy shouted defensively.

"Why were you the cat!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"It was an accident! I couldn't talk!"

"Y-you were trying to take my innocence!" Gajeel declared, jabbing a frantic finger at her. "Y-you saw my…"

"You have no innocence!" Levy fumed. "And you just saw me too!"

"It was big, right?"

"Stop focussing on your penis!"

"You said penis!" Gajeel gasped. Levy went red, but Gajeel had moved onto something more important. "You heard all of that mushy stuff I spouted last night! You heard what I said about you!"

Taking a bold step, Levy balled up all of her confidence and shouted. "I like you too! I wanna be with you, and don't care if you hurt me again!"

"R-really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh."

"Say something else!" Levy half demanded, half pleaded.

"Uh…I like you too."

"Really?" Levy asked, eyes watering slightly.

Gajeel recovered slightly, his trademark swagger returning. "Yeah, I like cute kittens! Gihihihi!"

"I'm not a kitten anymore!" She argued, puffing out her cheeks.

"Yeah, you are!" Gajeel laughed, grinning widely. He advanced onto the bed, taking her hand and kissing her. "You're my little kitten now!"

Levy smiled, placing a delicate hand on his cheek. "And just when I thought that yesterday was awful, it made this happen!" Her stomach gurgled suddenly, dragging attention.

"Oh, you want breakfast? I think we have some Grox meat leftover."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"


End file.
